Obsession review
Be careful what you wish for. Unless you’re wishing for a good movie…then Obsession has you covered.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Obsession
Directed by Curry Barker
Written by Curry Barker
Starring Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette
Obsession Review
It always feels unfair when I compare the movie being reviewed to a different movie. I usually end up doing it anyway. The reason it seems like the wrong move is that most movies, and Obsession certainly qualifies, are trying to be their own thing. Comparison can be valuable in painting a picture about what to expect…but they also feel reductive to throw around. Writer/director Curry Barker didn’t make Obsession to have it compared to another recent film by some random film reviewer. He made it to present an original and thrilling genre film. Barker has succeeded in delivering that. So, I’d hope he’d allow a reductive comparison thrown around by a random film reviewer.
Obsession is what Companion would have been had Iris been evil. No…there are no robots in Barker’s anti-romance horror movie. But you could argue the central female character in the story is no more human after the film’s protagonist makes his fateful and ill-advised wish. The movie goes pretty far in letting us know that the resulting obsessed young woman is anything but herself. It’s the greatest horror in the story, in fact. The real object of Bear’s (Michael Johnston) affection has lost her agency. She’s trapped beneath the layers of his wish. It’s terrifying to think about. It’s sad to contemplate. But it is thrilling to watch.
Bear has been too shy to tell his friend Nikki (Inde Navarrette) how he really feels about her. In his efforts to prepare for that conversation…Bear comes across a One Wish Willow. An old novelty item that purportedly grants one wish to the person who uses it. He doesn’t actually intend to wish for her undying love…he buys it for her to use to make her own wish come true. The distinction is important. There is no malice behind Bear’s initial motivation. He doesn’t even believe in it. His wish comes from a place of internal frustration with no thought that the universe would bend to his will. And he is immediately freaked out when it immediately does so.
That’s not to say that Bear’s hands are clean. Once he becomes convinced that the wish has actually worked…he doesn’t stop enjoying its effect. There’s no gray area about that. Bear may have been trying to do something nice to begin with…but he accepts the benefits of what he knows to be an unnatural and disturbing piece of magic. It leaves his character in an interesting place when the you know what starts to hit the fan. His motivations inevitably turn towards releasing Nikki from her Hell anyway that he can…but he also deserves a good portion of what’s happening to him.
What’s happening to him is, obviously, obsession. Wishing that Nikki loved him more than anyone in the world…Bear gets exactly what he asked for. You may recall that Companion had the same parameters for Iris. But where Companion told the story of a sex-bot gaining autonomy…Obsession tells the story of a girl who completely loses hers. The result is a dark (but surprisingly funny) tale of artificial and unstoppable obsession. Bear might want to find a way out of the situation he created…but he wished for exactly the opposite. What follows is a personal nightmare for both the person who made the wish, the poor young woman he wished it upon…and anyone who gets in her way.
By now it should be obvious that Obsession is a really good movie. The main thing that you need to know about it, however, is that Inde Navarrette is incredible in it. The real Nikki she shows us before the wish takes her away is extremely likable. The Nikki she shows us afterwards is terrifying. And hilarious. In exceedingly dark ways for each, of course. This is a breakout role if there ever was one. The person you’re rooting for is trapped inside the person the movie is trying to survive. Navarrette makes every side of it feel completely original and exciting.
Michael Johnston does fine work in his own right. Bear is the only person who knows what’s actually wrong with Nikki…and he knows he’s the person that caused it. He spends most of Obsession in a panic. Freaked out by the things Nikki is doing…and unable to find a way to put a stop to any of it. While Bear can’t be completely likable because he decides to use the situation to his gross advantage after completely understanding what has happened…Johnston manages to wring enough sympathy out of the character to keep Obsession from becoming stuck without a protagonist. That’s a tough wire to walk…and Johnston pulls it off.
Obsession works with a small cast of characters so don’t expect a high body count to pile up. This is a more personal type of horror. Bear’s best friend and a co-worker who has a crush on him round out the main cast of characters. They suspect that something is very wrong with Nikki…but how could they ever believe what it is? The absurdity of the One Wish Willow actually working traps Bear alone with the knowledge of what he’s done. Unfortunately for him, what he’s done is trap the woman he loved inside of a wish that’s becoming progressively dangerous and brutal for anyone who stands between them. Especially him.
Scare Value
Obsession is a dark movie. In fact, it gets darker the more you think about it. That doesn’t prevent it from being a fun and often funny movie too. Inde Navarrette steals the show as Nikki. Her memorable and committed performance is worth the price of admission on its own. But Curry Barker has delivered big time with Obsession. Hopefully he doesn’t mind me namedropping one of last year’s best to discuss one of this year’s. Because I’ve seen his movie…and you don’t want a guy like that angry with you.
4/5
Obsession Link
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